JURY SETS VALUE OF AIRPORT LAND; $86 MILLION PRICE PUT ON SITE WHERE NEW BURBANK TERMINAL WOULD GO.Byline: Donna Huffaker and Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer A jury decided Tuesday that Burbank Airport should pay $86 million to Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. for a 130-acre site to build a new expanded terminal - splitting the difference between the airport and company's value for the land. Airport officials said they could meet the price tag put on the property but still face numerous obstacles to building the new terminal, including the city of Burbank's refusal to take the land by eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in , as required by a recent Court of Appeals decision. Burbank Superior Court Judge Carl West said he will not enter Tuesday's verdict until June 24, when he'll hear arguments from attorneys on whether he should stay the decision until Burbank approves or rejects the sale. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority offered to pay $40 million for the property, saying it needs environmental remediation Generally, remediation means providing a remedy, so environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the general protection of human health and the environment or from a . Since April, Lockheed lawyers have been trying to convince a jury at the Burbank courthouse that the property is worth $128 million. The jury Tuesday determined the property's value to be $87,512,056, but subtracted $1.5 million from that to cover potential soil cleanup and delays that might result. Airport spokesman Victor Gill gill, in weights and measures gill, in weights and measures: see English units of measurement. said officials are pleased to have a firm price. ``We consider this to be a favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. development. This decision puts in place the final element for us to move forward for a new terminal,'' he said, adding he does not anticipate the authority will appeal the decision. Robert Willett, Lockheed Martin's attorney, said he was satisfied with the verdict. He said he spoke with jurors and he was convinced the $1.5 million they deducted de·duct v. de·duct·ed, de·duct·ing, de·ducts v.tr. 1. To take away (a quantity) from another; subtract. 2. To derive by deduction; deduce. v.intr. is to cover construction delays in case they run into contamination. ``I'm very pleased the jury rejected the airport's claim that the property was devalued de·val·ue also de·val·u·ate v. de·val·ued also de·valu·at·ed, de·val·u·ing also de·val·u·at·ing, de·val·ues also de·val·u·ates v.tr. 1. To lessen or cancel the value of. or should be lowered because of contamination,'' said Willett. The $86 million price tag came as no surprise to Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom. He believed the property value was in the range of $90 million. Ovrom said the airport delayed its own expansion efforts by such legal battles. ``It's a mess they created all by themselves,'' he said. The jury's decision is the latest of several recent major developments in the long-running airport expansion saga. Burbank wants a curfew curfew [O.Fr.,=cover fire], originally a signal, such as the ringing of a bell, to damp the fire, extinguish all lights in the dwelling, and retire for the night. The custom originated as a precaution against fires and was common throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. on night flights out of the airport and a cap on noise. In recent weeks, court decisions, federal agency opinions and local political shifts have all combined to push the warring sides closer together. But nothing can move forward without the land deal. Besides expanding its terminal, the airport also wants to move it. The current terminal is located too close to the airport's runways under Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control standards and needs to be moved, airport officials contend. The Airport Authority and Lockheed Martin have been haggling over a price for the site adjacent to the airport since 1997, when the airport decided to take the land by eminent domain. The two sides disagreed on the fair market value of the property. The site was once home to Lockheed manufacturing plants, where the aerospace giant built military aircraft. In arguing that the property is just $40 million, the Airport Authority suggested it still needs substantial environmental cleanup The process of removing solid, liquid, and hazardous wastes, except for unexploded ordnance, resulting from the joint operation of US forces to a condition that approaches the one existing prior to operation as determined by the environmental baseline survey, if one was conducted. because of a soil contamination Soil contamination is the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to caused by decades of defense manufacturing. Lockheed Martin lawyers claimed the site has already been cleaned and is ready for development. About halfway through the trial, the Court of Appeals ruled that Burbank has veto veto [Lat.,=I forbid], power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or entered into by the other functionaries or members. In the U.S. power over airport expansion and any moves by the airport to buy land for any expansion. Judge West promised he would consider staying any verdict his jury reached until all questions regarding the Court of Appeals decision are resolved. That could mean Lockheed has to wait to get the total amount of money until after Burbank decides if the airport can buy the property. The airport authority would use money from reserve funds and grants to buy the site, Gill said, adding it has already put $37 million on deposit for Lockheed. He foresees no change in cost to the airlines, Gill said. CAPTION(S): Map Map: Burbank Lockheed site |
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